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Maglev train crash highlights high-speed risk

At least one passenger was killed after a high-speed maglev train crashed into a stationary vehicle in northern Germany on Friday. Officials have not yet revealed exactly why the vehicle crashed.

Twenty-nine people were aboard the train when it collided with a maintenance vehicle on a test track in the Emsland district near the Dutch border, at 0800 GMT. The train was travelling at about 200 kilometres per hour (120mph) at the time of the accident.

“There was one fatality,” police spokesman Hans Kley told Reuters. He added that at least 10 people had been injured and further fatalities could not be ruled out. According to IABG, which operates the track, 23 out of the 29 people aboard the train were visitors to the testing facility.

Physical contact

The maglev test track is elevated 5 metres and is 32 km long. Kley said the accident had not derailed the maglev train but that debris was strewn along 300 metres of the line. The Transrapid train that rides the track is capable of travelling at speeds of more than 450 km/h (280 mph).

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A maglev train levitates a few centimetres above its track, or “guideway” through electromagnetic forces. Other electromagnets are then used to pull the train forwards or backwards along the line. As there is no physical contact between the train and track, the only friction experienced is with air. This means maglev trains can travel at speeds in excess of 500 km/h (310 mph).

Currently, the only commercial maglev in operation connects the Chinese city of Shanghai with the airport 30 km away. However, there are plans afoot to build a longer maglev line between Shanghai and Hangzhou, a distance of 169 km. The British government is also reportedly studying a proposed maglev link between Glasgow and London. Several other test tracks exist around the world.

Less accessible

Cliff Perry of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London, UK, says maglev trains have both advantages and disadvantages in terms of safety. “The system can be seen as less likely to suffer from objects on the track, since the track is elevated and not as accessible as conventional train tracks,” Perry says.

“[However] higher speeds increase the risk of serious consequences when something does go wrong and the elevation of the track makes evacuation of the passengers more difficult.”

Nonetheless, Perry adds that the dangers should not be overestimated. “We should remember that all novel developments carry with them some risk, and a controlled balance has to be struck between the need for innovation and that risk,” he says.